A 15-year-old Missouri high schooler accused of murdering a local chef suffered a traumatic childhood that included being diagnosed with cancer aged four and getting hooked on opioids as a result, his family says. The teen, who has not been named publicly, allegedly shot and killed prominent Kansas City chef Shaun Brady outside his restaurant last summer. According to prosecutors, the teen was with a group of friends driving in a stolen car near Brady's restaurant, Brady and Fox, when the group decided to break into Brady's car. Brady, a father of two, was unloading boxes into his restaurant at the time, and he reportedly chased them off 'kicking and swinging' at their stolen car. Prosecutors said a video shown behind closed doors in court this week then showed the 15-year-old get out of the car and shoot Brady in the chest several times. In court, authorities are arguing whether the teenager should be tried as an adult, with his family and attorney claiming he endured a tough childhood that should be taken into consideration. 'Development goes a long way in life, and he hasn’t gotten that far,' his father told Fox4KC. 'He hasn’t developed enough to understand a mistake—and mistakes will be made throughout his life.' According to documents shown in court this week, the suspect's childhood was filled with issues beginning with a shock cancer diagnosis aged just four. The disease returned at least three times before he was seven, and he was prescribed opioids from a young age to help handle the pain. This caused him to develop an addiction that subsequently led him to fail middle school, the court records said. His mother testified in the hearing that he overdosed twice. The teen's rough childhood went further than his health issues, however, as he also endured years of abuse including regular beatings. This allegedly saw him being beaten with a metal bat, and in court it was alleged that he witnessed his dad beat his mom so much she went blind in one eye. A lack of food in his childhood home forced the teen to sell drugs from age 10 to feed himself and his siblings, and he was in and out of trouble with the law ever since. The suspect's father said his son was arrested twice before, for burglary in 2021 and trespassing in 2024, neither of which resulted in any charges. But he said he regretted the fact that the justice system didn't step in, telling Fox4 that he partly blamed the justice system. In court, the teen's attorney described his child hood as 'full of trauma', and argued for the suspect not to be tried as an adult. The state is seeking to try him on murder charges as an adult, and Brady's family was reportedly inside the courtroom as officials decide his alleged killer's fate.
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